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Paul Is Dead Hoax

olive

New Blood
O
Joined
Apr 6, 2007
Messages
2
Hello. Have you heard of the Paul Is Dead Hoax?
It concerns Paul McCartney, in his Beatles days. Basically, the hoax states that Paul was killed in a horrific car accident in 1966 (I've also heard that Paul was killed by the Beatles themselves, the Ku Klux Klan and even Yoko Ono), then consequently replaced by a look-alike and sound-alike, apparently called William Shears Campbell (Billy Shears). The evidence and clues can be found in Beatles recordings, lyrics album covers, etc and also some have noted a difference in the post-car crash McCartney, in terms of musicianship, physical appearance and behaviour...There are literally hundreds of clues. (I really wish I could link you to wikipedia right now)

Anyway, I'm doing a major school project on conspiracy theories for a subject called Society and Culture at high school, it goes toward 30% of my final mark for said subject. As a case study, I'm doing the "Paul is dead Hoax". I was wondering if any of you could give any personal opinions on this for me. Like, why you think the conspiracy theory was created, what mechanisms that exist in pop-culture could have lead to its creation… or just any general opinion, discussion or anything. I would really appreciate it :)
 
olive said:
Hello. Have you heard of the Paul Is Dead Hoax?
It concerns Paul McCartney, in his Beatles days. Basically, the hoax states that Paul was killed in a horrific car accident in 1966 (I've also heard that Paul was killed by the Beatles themselves, the Ku Klux Klan and even Yoko Ono), then consequently replaced by a look-alike and sound-alike, apparently called William Shears Campbell (Billy Shears). The evidence and clues can be found in Beatles recordings, lyrics album covers, etc and also some have noted a difference in the post-car crash McCartney, in terms of musicianship, physical appearance and behaviour...There are literally hundreds of clues. (I really wish I could link you to wikipedia right now)

Anyway, I'm doing a major school project on conspiracy theories for a subject called Society and Culture at high school, it goes toward 30% of my final mark for said subject. As a case study, I'm doing the "Paul is dead Hoax". I was wondering if any of you could give any personal opinions on this for me. Like, why you think the conspiracy theory was created, what mechanisms that exist in pop-culture could have lead to its creation… or just any general opinion, discussion or anything. I would really appreciate it :)
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I remember this one from my youth. Some loon raved to me about the walrus being a symbol of death in "all cultures." I asked him how many cultures are familiar with walruses (I'd be willing to bet that neither Zulus nor Maoris have a word for "walrus"). He got very angry.
 
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Yeah, I lived through it. It was mostly a bunch of teenagers sitting in moldy basements playing records backwards (something I never got the hang of), hearing eerie phrases such as "Paaaaul is deeaaad" and obsessing over album covers where Paul is the only one with bare feet.

Although it amused me and my friends at a few slumber parties and the whole thing gave me the creeps, personally I never believed it.

My personal feeling is that any time a cultural phenomenon gets really, really big, something has to give. Some weird mythology has to arise. People were a lot more gullible back then. Now you get people who believe OJ is innocent, things like that, but they are the exception to the rule.

John Lennon referred to the hoax in some of his lyrics after he had a falling out with Paul.

There's lots of info out there if you google it. Good luck and have fun with it!
 
I honestly think the Beatles purposely created that myth.

While you're at it, just for fun, Google "Beatles Klaatu". You'll find some interesting stuff.
 
olive said:
Hello. Have you heard of the Paul Is Dead Hoax?
It concerns Paul McCartney, in his Beatles days. Basically, the hoax states that Paul was killed in a horrific car accident in 1966 (I've also heard that Paul was killed by the Beatles themselves, the Ku Klux Klan and even Yoko Ono), then consequently replaced by a look-alike and sound-alike, apparently called William Shears Campbell (Billy Shears). The evidence and clues can be found in Beatles recordings, lyrics album covers, etc and also some have noted a difference in the post-car crash McCartney, in terms of musicianship, physical appearance and behaviour...There are literally hundreds of clues. (I really wish I could link you to wikipedia right now)

Anyway, I'm doing a major school project on conspiracy theories for a subject called Society and Culture at high school, it goes toward 30% of my final mark for said subject. As a case study, I'm doing the "Paul is dead Hoax". I was wondering if any of you could give any personal opinions on this for me. Like, why you think the conspiracy theory was created, what mechanisms that exist in pop-culture could have lead to its creation… or just any general opinion, discussion or anything. I would really appreciate it :)
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I've always thought on some level that John Lennon was doing it as a gag; it was some of his songs (Strawberry Fields, A Day in the Life) that gave it momentum. After the breakup of the Beatles, there was a long period before McCartney appeared in public; in fact I seem to remember that it was in Life that the first photos of him were published talking about how silly this all was.

Other factors:

1. Searching through rock lyrics looking for hidden meaning was hot. This may have been due to drugs on both sides of the musical experience (performer and listener). The Paul is Dead myth illustrates the harmless side of this; the Manson family demonstrates the potential peril. Certainly if you look at the early Beatles lyrics you will see that they are pretty transparent; it's not until you get to Revolver and Rubber Soul that you begin to wonder just what the heck they were singing about.

2. The relative infancy of the media in covering "youth culture". Nowadays this would lead the cable networks for a day or two, but pretty quickly some enterprising reporterette would nail an interview with McCartney, scotching the rumors. Back then only the newspapers had any immediacy, and I doubt if many of their editors felt there was a "story" here. The media that did cover rock music (mostly Rolling Stone and the Teen mags) may have felt that the story was better kept alive to generate interest.
 
Ah, fresh blood!

As I'm going to assume you already know the details of the conspiracy theory and the abundance of "clues" (Paul is facing away on the cover of Sgt. Peppers; Paul is not wearing any shoes on the cover of Abbey Road; "Turn me on deadman"; etc...), I'll instead give you this advice.

If you can find an actual "Paul is dead" conspiracy site (one where the people actually believe that Paul was beheaded in a car accident - the most popular myth - or where they believe he was killed in some other way) and not just a site that discusses the conspiracy, you will learn a LOT more than we could ever tell you here...not only about some of the crazy theories that are out there, but also about human psychology in general.

My predicition is that people who believe the "Paul is dead" hoax will also believe in a range of other strange conspiracies and "woo" (the occult; alternative medicine; etc...).

Wish I could help you more - I had to study the Sgt. Peppers album for my final year of music at high school, but as the "Paul is dead" hoax is really just a cultural footnote now to their music I didn't dwell on it for too long.


ETA - Pomeroo: The people who talk about the walrus being a symbol of death in all the worlds cultures reminds me of the studio art teacher who tried to get away with telling the class that white dogs were a symbol of protection in all native American cultures. Sadly, those that wrote about white dogs being such a symbol got quite good marks in her class. I failed. (Much longer story there involving illness and whatnot).
 
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Mobyseven said:
If you can find an actual "Paul is dead" conspiracy site (one where the people actually believe that Paul was beheaded in a car accident - the most popular myth - or where they believe he was killed in some other way) and not just a site that discusses the conspiracy, you will learn a LOT more than we could ever tell you here...not only about some of the crazy theories that are out there, but also about human psychology in general.
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Thanks. I googled and found a forum called the King Is Naked that seems to be run by zealous believers, so, awesome.

And I'm really grateful for your comments, they've been great!
 
I honestly think the Beatles purposely created that myth.

While you're at it, just for fun, Google "Beatles Klaatu". You'll find some interesting stuff.
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Yes an excellent example of unfounded claims ultimately hurting people. Klaatu was a very good prog rock band that never shook that stigma off
 
skepticalcriticalguy said:
I honestly think the Beatles purposely created that myth.

While you're at it, just for fun, Google "Beatles Klaatu". You'll find some interesting stuff.
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Strangely enough I own a copy of that record. I bought it not long after it was released when people were still saying that they were actually the Beatles reformed. I really was a tragic Beatles fan.

As soon as I listened to it I knew the story was crap. I thought the record was OK, but didn't know how anyone could mistake them for The Beatles.
 
Suburban Legend

yeah I remember that as a teen. we tried to play lennons 'Number Nine" backwards to supposedly hear 'I Buried Paul'.. or was it "turn me on dead man"??. Well I didnt hear ◊◊◊◊ and that was the end of our interest in the Paul conspiracy. I think i was in Jr high then.
 
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yeah I remember that as a teen. we tried to play lennons 'Number Nine" backwards to supposedly hear 'I Buried Paul'.. or was it "turn me on dead man"??. Well I didnt hear ◊◊◊◊ and that was the end of our interest in the Paul conspiracy. I think i was in Jr high then.
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Which is funny because it is the end of the Sgt Peppers album that has the real fun
 
olive said:
Thanks. I googled and found a forum called the King Is Naked that seems to be run by zealous believers, so, awesome.

And I'm really grateful for your comments, they've been great!
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No problem, always willing to lend a hand to a fellow Aussie.

You'll learn far more through infiltration than you'd ever have learned through a lecture.
 
As I'm going to assume you already know the details of the conspiracy theory and the abundance of "clues" (Paul is facing away on the cover of Sgt. Peppers; Paul is not wearing any shoes on the cover of Abbey Road; "Turn me on deadman"; etc...), I'll instead give you this advice.
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Ohh...Sgt. Peppers has all the proof you need. See that Guitar in flowers? It's left handed! Only Paul was left handed! See that hand above Paul's head? The hand is a sign of death! On the back, he points to Wednesday at 3 o'clock, the time of the accident!
 
...and the license plate of the VW beetle on the Abbey Road cover! That was another part of the legend I heard. Although I don't think it was a hoax, but an urban legend that started innocently and propagated on its own.

A W Smith, the "Number Nine" played backwards was supposed to sound like "Turn me on dead man." The phrase "I buried Paul" was heard at the end of Strawberry Fields, but played forwards, not backwards. All this is off the top of my head, so if anything is wrong don't blame me but blame my mid-40s memory.
 
Paul is dead to me since "Say Say Say"

But he was on life support after "Silly Love Songs"
 
Dr. Lao said:
Paul is dead to me since "Say Say Say"

But he was on life support after "Silly Love Songs"
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I have the urge to take most of his songs from the "Wings" days and put them to better lyrics. Musically... they're very stirring. "Somebody's knocking at the door" is haunting... "Silly Love Songs" has that marvelous twisting of three melodies... that sort of thing

The lyrics? Meh.
 
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